View full sizeFrank Couch Don and Lena Knight roses that he bought for her before Valentines day after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. ( The Birmingham News / Frank Couch )Don and Lena Knight of Vestavia Hills will celebrate their 23rd wedding anniversary March 21.If Don, 73, forgets flowers, it will be OK with Lena, 70. In 2006, Don was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

A couple of years later, before Valentine’s Day, he spotted a dozen silk roses while shopping. He bought them and gave them to his wife, saying, “These are for you in case I forget next year.” He did forget. She kept the roses and says they will always be a “special, loving reminder of my sweetheart’s love and thoughtfulness at Valentine’s.”

During her daily visits to Don in a nursing home, he still calls her “sweetheart.” Lena often sings with him, and some lyrics are among the few things he remembers. “We often sing, ‘I love you forever and ever, amen.’ ”